News

May 28, 2009

Dixon Couple Celebrate More Than $100,000 Lottery Win

Don and June Wilson of Dixon have a system in place. The couple, who have been married for 55 years, follow a simple routine that recently garnered them a $100,000 top prize playing the Missouri Lottery’s “Big Money” Scratchers game.

“He always buys the tickets, and I scratch them off,” June said.

The parents of six grown children continued that tradition at Country Mart, 508 E. 5th St. in Dixon, on May 25 with Don purchasing a “Big Money” ticket that June began scratching off in their car.

“She asked, ‘What does this “BIG” mean?’” relayed Don, explaining how neither of them quite knew what the symbol she uncovered on the game ticket meant. Though he was initially “afraid they’d laugh and say, ‘Oh, that doesn’t win anything,’” the pair sought help from the staff at Country Mart.

They quickly learned the “BIG” symbol meant they had won all 20 prizes listed on the ticket - $100,000 in all.

“Everyone was patting me on the back,” added June.

“We thought, ‘This is our lucky month,’” Don continued. After all, a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant earlier in May had “predicted” riches in their future.

According to Don, the cookie said, “Before your next birthday, you will come into a large sum of money.” The couple had laughed at the time, noting that June’s birthday is just around the corner.

But the good fortune didn’t stop there. After returning home from Country Mart, fresh off their Lottery win, the couple listened to a message on their answering machine that produced even more smiles. The message was from June’s doctor’s office, following up on a cancerous growth she had just had removed.

“It said the biopsy was clear,” Don shared. “The biggest deal is that she’s cancer-free.”

Plans for their recent run of good luck include making “some repairs to our home that we’ve been putting off for years.”